The BICEP Bulletin

BICEP: Blog for Innovation in Community & Environmental Planning.
Your resource for news, research, and discussion on local level community development and environmental issues. The BICEP advocates modern research and implementation of best practices in community development, land use/environmental planning and policy. Geographic focus is on the Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, and New England regions.

Friday, April 30, 2010

After a very long hiatus from blogging I'm back to give it another go. A lot has happened in the past year. I'll get caught up on blog worthy events over the next couple of weeks. One thing that I will say is that I've started on a new career path in the energy area... more details to come. That's it for now. Signing off...

Friday, May 1, 2009

On April 30, I attended the All Things Green Conference and Expo hosted by the Macomb County Chamber of Commerce. I got a look at several "green" companies and businesses that are either based in Michigan or expanding their operations in the state. It was a good conference. The focus of many of the sessions were on energy.

The presentation by Next Energy focused on the advancement of clean and renewable technologies. There was a presentation by reps from Mariah Power and MasTech who are partnering in Manistee County, MI. They presented a case study on small wind manufacturing.

All in all it was a good conference. My suggestion for next year's conference is that the organizers include a session on water use conservation and water efficiency.

I also noted the lack of representation of minority and disadvantaged businesses/enterprises in the emerging "green business sector". This was not a fault of the organizers of the conference because this is a problem that is industry wide. As more minority "green" entrepreneurs come to the forefront the industry should make a stronger effort to reach to these groups.

In general, my thoughts are that the "green movement" is a trend that minority entrepreneurs and businesses cannot afford to miss out on, speaking both economically and environmentally for our communities.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Boy, its been way too long since my last post. Things have just been so busy. Between family life, working, and my part-time graduate class load, I'm stretched kid of thin. Because I am such a glutton for punishment, I've taken on three classes instead of the normal two for the semester. I feel that by doing this just for the current semester, I can coast through my upcoming last semester of one class and after that I'll be working exclusively on my thesis paper.

I've been staying abreast the developments in environment, land use and government. Just haven't made time to blog on them. President-elect will be sworn in on Tuesday - really exciting. I think he has the opportunity and potential be one of the best Commander-in-Chiefs this country has seen in a long-time. It seems like the time is right for great changes in America. With things like the terrible economy, the war, global climate change, Obama has a lot of work ahead of him. I'm sure we will all be watching the inaugural address on Tuesday, its history in the making.

After the inaugural, I'll post some comments and insights on his speech. After that I'll try post more. But I've said that before, haven't I?

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Here's a short essay I wrote last year on the state of the environmentalist movement. Original post is here

Being a professional who has worked and lived in different regions of the Midwest andeast coast over the past few years, I've had opportunities to meet more people in thefields of environment protection and planning. I've been able to gain more insightabout myself as well as about Americans of various races, creeds, and nationalities.As an African American, an environmentalist and as planner, I amconsistently reminded of how few minorities there are in these fields. There's beensignificant talk and writing recently about the state of the environmental movement.Some have even gone so far as to call the movement "dead". (Nordhaus, 2004) Is thistrue? Have we seen the best of what environmentalism, smart growth and othermovements has to offer?

My answer to these questions is no. I would argue that the very best ofenvironmentalism and regionalism is still yet to come. The idealsthat environmentalism and smart growth are founded on, are a great starting point.But, if they are to survive, grow and continue to make positive progress, the conceptsof diversity and inclusion has to move to the front of the line. They need to be fullyintegrated into our visions, missions and so forth. The face and make up of whatmight be called traditional environmentalism has to change or else the movement"will" die. I don't mean to say that it will disappear but, I think that it could lose itsrelevance perhaps even its credibility in America.

In about fifty years, half of America's population will be non-white. (Rast, 2006)Finally, a whole new population and generation is saying, "Hey, what about us?". Theimpoverished, lower income and many members of minority groups biggestissues, traditionally, were about income, getting food on the table, keeping the lightson, and getting the rent paid. Anything beyond this was luxury. But things arechanging. Today and into the future, the threats of global warming,diminishing natural resources and the increased frequency and/or intensity of naturaldisasters, are powerful indicators things to come. (Enderle, 2007)

Environmentalism and the planning community has to broaden our view and act tohelp the those who are most vulnerable to changing conditions. The white-bread,privileged image of traditional environmentalism has got to change to show therealities of America. The real America is in our communities, in our neighborhoods and the neighborhoods that you drive past on your way home to the suburbs.

Monday, July 21, 2008

July 16, 2008 Plans for a light rail system in Detroit progressed this week when a regional planning group green-lighted the proposed development. Officials with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments approved a Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) plan to construct and operate light rail service on Woodward Avenue between downtown and Eight Mile.

"This is an important step toward the establishment of a reliable rail transportation system that will assist Detroiters in getting to and from their destinations," Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said in a statement. "This approval of DDOT's rail project will also multiply economical opportunities for business growth." Check out Detroit Light Rail for the rest of the story.

Cities Getting Greener, But Not Fast Enough to Keep Up, New Report Reveals Population growth surpasses urban park acreage and spending gains; Crown for largest city park moves from El Paso to Anchorage

WASHINGTON, D. C. - The nation's big cities added 5,375 new acres of parkland in 2007, bringing the total of public urban green space serving an ever-more-urban America to over 1.3 million acres. The total is larger than Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Mesa Verde, and Shenandoah National Parks combined.Big-city park departments last year also provided their citizens with 9,945 playgrounds, 1,283 swimming pools, 379 golf courses, and 353 dog parks, while spending a record $5 billion on their park and recreation systems.But it wasn't enough to keep up with population growth.

These and many other urban park statistics were released today by The Trust for Public Land (TPL), a national nonprofit that works to create parks and protect open space. The report is released annually by TPL's Center for City Park Excellence (CCPE), the nation's leading source of data about urban park systems. CCPE statistics are posted at TPL.org/cityparkfacts<http://www.tpl.org/cityparkfacts>."

The numbers reflect the increasing value of city parks to better quality of urban life," said Peter Harnik, director of the Center. "Acreage and spending in bellwether places like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Phoenix, and San Francisco increased, while the quality of many city parks is improving."

"But as a whole we're still losing ground," Harnik noted.

Factoring in growth, the amount of parkland in the 60 biggest cities declined during the past year, from 18.88 acres per 1,000 residents to 18.72 acres. Cities that lost the most ground include Louisville, El Paso, Las Vegas, Charlotte, and Raleigh.

More than 51 million Americans live in our largest 60 cities.

The single largest urban park in the U.S. - by far - is Chugach State Park in Anchorage, Alaska. At 490,125 acres, it is about the size of New York City and Los Angeles combined.

"Chugach isn't the typical park for an outing with your child or mother-in-law," said Harnik. "It's a huge mountain wilderness. But it is a beloved retreat for its citizens and it is all within the city limits of Anchorage, so it counts as the champion.

"This year TPL added 15 cities to its list for parkland analysis.

"That's how we learned about Chugach," Harnik said. "Anchorage hadn't been in our previous studies. Until then we believed that the biggest park was Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso.

"Harnik noted that city park systems contain numerous different kinds of facilities, from remote natural areas to playgrounds, flower gardens to paved plazas, sports fields to bike trails.In its annual survey, TPL counts every kind of park within the municipal boundary, including national, state, county, regional, and municipal.

There are nearly 20,000 individual parks in the biggest cities. For dog parks look to Portland, Ore., Las Vegas, and San Francisco. For swimming pools per capita turn to Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, and Pittsburgh. For recreation centers head for Chicago and Honolulu.

Among cities that provide lots of parkland as a percent of the city's area are New York, San Francisco, Boston, San Diego, Raleigh, and Austin.

Cities which gained significant amounts of new parkland between 2006 and 2007 included San Antonio, Pittsburgh, Wichita, El Paso, and Denver.

Based on data from 2006, the best-funded major city park and recreation departments were in Seattle (which spent $242 per resident), St. Paul ($224), Las Vegas ($192), Virginia Beach ($158), and Sacramento ($156). The lowest-funded departments were in Houston ($31), Tulsa ($35), Memphis ($39), Louisville ($40), and Toledo ($40).

"Spending in many respects is the most important measure," said Harnik. "A great park system requires ongoing investment, and it also needs quality programming for citizens and visitors." Of 123 park agencies studied for operations (many cities have more than one agency handling parks), 62 spent more, 22 spent less and 39 remained constant between 2005 and 2006, according to TPL. Harnik cautioned that spending levels can change significantly from year to year. "Keeping up a great park system needs the constant attention of the city and the constant vigilance of its park users and advocates," he said. "Parks need to be nurtured even in times of tight budgets."

TPL's Center for City Park Excellence, begun in 1994, supports the creation and rehabilitation of city park systems through research, data collection, evaluation, skill building, fundraising, garden and playground construction, and land purchase. For more information, visit the Center on the web at TPL.org/ccpe<http://www.tpl.org/ccpe>.The Trust for Public Land, established in 1972, specializes in conservation real estate, applying its expertise in negotiations, public finance, and law to protect land for people to enjoy as parks, greenways, community gardens, urban playgrounds, and wilderness. With offices in more than 30 cities, TPL works to increase the number and quality of urban parks and reduce the distance city residents must travel to reach open spaces. TPL depends on the support of individuals, corporations, and foundations. For more information, visit TPL on the Web at TPL.org<http://www.tpl.org/>.

Thursday, July 3, 2008

The world had long assumed that Americans were just unrepentant energy pigs (well, we still are).

If gas prices went up, well, we kept our Explorers aimed at the horizon, and little changed. We truthfully didn't have lots of options. Unlike Europeans, we didn't have jobs we could bike to or convenient public transit. Gasoline prices never stayed high enough long enough to force those kinds of shifts in how we lived.

Now here we are. Gas prices are at $4 a gallon, as no one needs to tell you, and they are likely to stay that way. Most of us still don't have the alternatives we need to adapt with grace, which means that many will adapt just by suffering. We will run out of gas on the Interstate, ease our minivans over to the shoulder and tell the kids everything is O.K. We'll fall behind on Visa bills to pay for gas so we can buy food made ever more expensive by energy costs.

But it's also true that Americans are finding options where there seemed to be none. They're ready to change — just waiting for their infrastructure to catch up. They are driving to commuter-rail lines only to find there are no parking spots left. They are running fewer errands and dumping their SUVs. Public-transit use is at a 50-year high. Gas purchases are down 2% to 3%. And all those changes bring secondary, hard-earned benefits.

"You suddenly are reminded how the economy works," says Eric Roston, author of a new book about energy, The Carbon Age. "Nobody wants high prices for oil. But there's also no faster mechanism to change behavior." The suffering will go on. But the story, like any good tragedy, is not without redemption.

1. Globalized Jobs Return HomeThe world suddenly seems big again. A family of four can't fly cross-country for much less than $2,000. The cost of shipping a standard 40-ft. (12 m) container of couches from Shanghai to New Jersey has tripled since 2000. Trucking carrots from Mexico to Georgia makes less and less economic sense.

When John Smith started a high-end furniture company in Washington in 2003, he couldn't make everything in the U.S. and stay competitive. So his company, Willem Smith, started operations in Vietnam and Ecuador. He found himself visiting factories 11 time zones away from his four small daughters.

By last year, the cost of making and importing one of his favorite pieces, the Caballero Chair, was ballooning. He was shipping Italian leather to Vietnam and then shipping the large chair back to the States. There were other problems too, like inflation in Vietnam. So last January, Willem Smith "repatriated" the Caballero to Hickory, N.C. That shift helps contain shipping costs and has other perks. "People are happy to buy American," Smith says. "And it felt kind of nice to bring this one home."

In more industries, such as steel, lawn-mower batteries and upscale furniture, doing business in the U.S. is starting to look slightly more feasible.

2. Sprawl StallsAcross the country, real estate agents are reporting that many home buyers are looking to move closer to cities. Gas prices are shaping their decisions. A May study that examined housing values in five cities found prices had fared worse in the more distant neighborhoods. "The collapse of America's housing bubble — and its reverberations in financial markets — has obscured a tectonic shift in housing demand," wrote economist Joe Cortright in the study, sponsored by CEOs for Cities, a nonprofit group that promotes cities. "Housing in cities and neighborhoods that require lengthy commutes and provide few transportation alternatives to the private vehicle are falling in value more precipitously than in more central, compact and accessible places."

3. Four-Day WorkweeksCompanies, colleges and governments are moving to four-day weeks. Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Fla., went to four days for the 2007 summer session and saved $268,000 in energy costs. There were unforeseen benefits too. Over the year, sick leave fell 50%, and turnover among the 1,500-person staff dropped 44%. "We thought the energy savings would be a plus. But the reaction was about what it meant to people's family lives and their ability to take care of themselves," says college president Jim Drake. Brevard is doing four-day weeks again this summer and may make the change year-round.

4. Less PollutionAs people consume less fuel in America, vehicle emissions should drop. Less pollution means bluer skies and longer lives — and the potential to slow global warming, albeit slightly. Lower energy demand means the air will contain fewer toxic agents, like particle pollution, which can get deep into your lungs and cause serious health problems. Bottom line? About 2,220 lives have already been saved over the past year because of higher gas prices and less pollution, according to an estimate calculated for TIME by J. Paul Leigh, a University of California at Davis health-economics professor who co-wrote a study on the topic in the March 2008 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. If prices remain high, we can expect some 2,000 people to avoid dying from pollution in the next 12 months.

5. More FrugalityTrucking companies are using software to help identify optimal places for drivers to refuel and the most efficient delivery routes. Waste haulers are checking tire pressure twice a day instead of every couple of days. We're all wasting less. Vespa scooter sales increased 106% in May compared with the same time last year; Ford SUV sales dropped 55% in June. Columbia, Md., resident Glenn Conrad, 58, bought a Honda Insight a few years ago and like many so-called hypermilers became obsessed with his miles-per-gallon gauge. "That thing is really addictive," he says. Although a police officer recently gave him a warning for going too slowly, he is undeterred. "If I roll both of my windows up," he says, "I instantly get about two more miles per gallon."

6. Fewer Traffic DeathsEvery year, about 40,000 people die in traffic accidents in the U.S. If you are age 5 through 34, you are more likely to die this way than any other way. Ordinary things we do — or don't do — have extraordinary consequences. We know that higher gas prices cause many of us to slow down and drive less — which means fewer people die. Early research into 2006 accident data suggests many lives have already been spared. If gas remains at $4 a gallon for a year or more, expect as many as 1,000 fewer fatalities a month, according to professor Michael Morrisey at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and associate professor David Grabowski at Harvard Medical School, who calculated that estimate for TIME. That means annual deaths could be cut by almost a third — a public-health triumph.

7. Cheaper InsuranceIf you are driving less, you could qualify for lower car-insurance rates. For example, if you have stopped driving to work, your classification has changed to "pleasure driver," and you could save 10% to 15% (or $94 to $142 on an average premium), according to the Consumer Federation of America. So if you're parked more, call your insurer.

8. Less TrafficTravel on all roads dropped 2.1% in the first four months of 2008, according to the Federal Highway Administration. Wherever people can take public transit, they are. Even before the biggest gas-price hikes, a Congressional Budget Office study of California freeways from 2003 to 2006 showed that the number of freeway trips went down 0.7% for every 50� increase in gas prices — but only in areas near public transit. Cities are struggling to keep up. BART, the San Francisco Bay Area rail system, removed seats to open up more standing room. In Boston, where turnpike use declined by 600,000 cars in May, officials are pleading with public-transit passengers to travel at non peak times.

9. More Cops on the BeatAcross the country, police bike and foot patrols are up, and cops are being told to cut down on idling their cruisers — which is sort of like telling a teenager to stop using his cell phone. Georgia state police have been told to cut driving time 25%. In Shelby, N.C., police officers have been ordered to park their cars for 15 min. every 2 hours and to stop taking patrol cars out for lunch. In May the city government's fuel consumption decreased. The longer-term effects may include better community relations — and slimmer police.

10. Less ObesityPeople walk more, bike more and eat out less when gas is pricey. A permanent $1 hike in prices may cut obesity 10%, saving thousands of lives and billions of dollars a year, estimates Charles Courtemanche, an assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. At Orange Cycle, the largest bike store in Orlando, Fla., sales of upright urban bikes from March to June rose 57% compared with the same period last year. The shop was around for the 1970s gas crisis too, but this feels different, says co-owner Deena Breed. "I don't think it's just gas," she says. "It has to do with weight, exercise, community — a general sense of not being so wasteful."

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

When the ink finally dries on the largest conservation land purchase in the history of the United States - 320,000 Montana forest acres for $510 million - nearly nothing will have changed. And that, of course, is exactly the point.

The deal between Plum Creek Timber Co. and conservation buyers is designed to maintain the status quo; the real change would come if those western Montana acres were sold instead to real estate developers. Plum Creek lands to be purchased under the deal announced Monday include forests surrounding the Missoula Valley, on up the Swan and even into the Yaak, and all “are worth more as house lots than as board feet,” said Eric Love, regional director for conservation buyer Trust for Public Lands. “It just would be tragic to lose it all to backcountry sprawl.”

HARRISBURG - The tentative budget deal between Gov. Ed Rendell and state lawmakers calls for borrowing about $2.5 billion for water and sewer projects, bridge repairs and other infrastructure projects.

After decades of relative cooperation between the nations on either side of the river, border battles over environmental issues are becoming increasingly contentious. DTE officials will appear in a Canadian court July 7 to answer charges concerning how its plants' mercury emissions have affected Canada's waters and soils downstream.

Some legal experts trace these changes to the Bush White House and what they see as the government's go-it-alone approach to dealing with the environment. And there are varying ideas about whether the trend is a good thing.

"The Bush administration has been less interested in solving trans-boundary issues through diplomacy and bilateral cooperation than previous administrations," said Noah Hall, an international law expert at Wayne State University. "They haven't taken the diplomatic bilateral approach, and people have been left with no other option than to go to court."

Previously, disputes have been resolved through groups like the International Joint Commission or the Center for Environmental Cooperation, which was established as part of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Some real estate appraisers, property owners and land trusts have manipulated tax credits available from Colorado's conservation easement program in ways that seem downright criminal.So we welcome Wednesday's decision by Attorney General John Suthers asking a statewide grand jury to look into the more questionable deals. An independent probe is essential.

A grand jury can subpoena witnesses and compel testimony; the AG would not have that authority for this investigation. Subpoena powers will help the grand jury unravel any scams.The probe should publicly highlight the worst abuses. Exposing obvious loopholes should prod state lawmakers to close those gaps.

No single agency has direct oversight of easement credits, which have drained more than $274 million from state coffers since 2000. Articles in the Rocky have uncovered a host of dubious transactions, some involving what looks like excessive appraisals and multiple tax credits claimed from the same parcel of land.

For some people the temptation to game the system must have been irresistible. It was possible to collect millions in tax credits without drawing any attention. With little risk of getting caught, pushing the limits may have seemed a gamble worth taking.

Indeed, the penalties for illegally cashing in easements are little more than a slap on the wrist - low-level misdemeanors which carry modest fines and minimal jail time, if any.

To be sure, the grand jury might discover evidence of conspiracy, tax fraud or securities fraud - offenses that carry much stiffer penalties. And for months the IRS has conducted its own probe of easement deals that could violate federal tax laws.

If those wider offenses aren't prosecuted, don't count on stiff sentences for those who illegally manipulated easements. Another reason to welcome the grand jury's independence: Tax attorney Rodney Atherton, now under investigation by the Colorado Supreme Court for potential ethics violations related to the easement program, is likely to get a look.

A Rocky investigation of a land trust he organized found that Atherton got two open-space agreements on land he owned in Jefferson County and that these deals led to $360,000 in state tax credits for the attorney and his wife. Atherton may have attracted attention because the state Republican Party is a client of his law firm Zakhem Atherton. Suthers is Colorado's highest-ranking GOP official.

Michael Huttner of ProgressNowAction called for Suthers to recuse himself from the investigation, claiming Suthers had "a conflict of interest with one of his major contributors."Atherton is hardly a "major contributor," since he did not give Suthers any money for his 2006 campaign. And while Atherton's law partner John Zakhem gave $900 to Suthers' campaign, Atherton did not join the firm until 2007. The most direct link Huttner can make is a contribution from Atherton to Gov. Bill Owens' 2002 re-election campaign.

Huttner's allegation is ludicrous. We have no reason to question Suthers' independence.Besides, if Suthers wanted to protect Atherton, or any Republican, why wouldn't he take charge of the investigation, so he could cherry-pick who was scrutinized and who was left alone?We trust the grand jury probe will be thorough, giving lawmakers plenty of ammunition to stiffen the penalties for looting public coffers and abusing a program meant to conserve valuable open space.